Finding Peace
by minimumstitch
Summary: Jack tries to find solace in Ianto's house, but finds something else entirely. How will he cope? Warning: Character death
1. Chapter 1

1.

Owen glared at Jack. "What do you mean you're moving out of the Hub? Where the hell are you going? And more to the point, who's going to do the nightshift in this bloody place now? If you think I'm spending my soddin' nights here, you've got another thing comin'!"

Jack shifted the worn duffle bag he was carrying to his other shoulder. "I'm moving in to Ianto's and we'll take it in turn to do the nightshift. I've been with Torchwood for over a 100 years and I think it's time I began to let go and trust my team to be able to handle themselves."

Owen, Gwen and Tosh exchanged worried glances, all of them clearly unsure of what to say, each prompting the other to speak. Jack rolled his eyes. "Listen its fine, I'm fine. I just need to get out of the Hub and Ianto's is where I feel most comfortable."

Gwen moved forward and took Jack's hand in hers. "Jack, Ianto's gone. You can't make his place a shrine to him, it's not healthy."

Jack pulled his hand back angrily. "You think I don't know that! It was my fault he died! If I'd got there a bit sooner instead of screwing around playing the hero, he would still be here."

It was Tosh's turn to talk to the Captain. "Listen to me, there was nothing you could have done differently. You weren't playing the hero, you were being a hero. If you hadn't, then that little girl wouldn't be alive today. You weren't to know that Ianto was in trouble, it was a routine weevil hunt, one that Ianto did every single day. How were you supposed to know that the weevil would be immune to the spray?"

When Jack refused to answer, Tosh took hold of his chin and turned his head so that he had no choice but to look her in the eye. "It wasn't your fault. It was an accident, just a tragic accident. Forgive yourself, I'm sure Ianto has."

Jack jerked his head out of Tosh's hand and stepped back, crossing his arms defensively across his chest. "Ianto can't forgive me because Ianto is dead. His body is lying in a morgue drawer downstairs and he is never going to come back. There's nothing after we die, Tosh, no heaven, no hell, no haunting loved ones or old enemies; there is just nothing!"

Adjusting his duffle bag on his shoulder, Jack moved towards the invisible lift, before stepping on it and rising to the surface, his coat flapping in the breeze. As he stepped off the lift he caught sight of couples walking hand in hand and felt his throat convulse trying to hold back sobs of despair. Jack and Ianto had never been the holding hands type of couple, instead they had watched others and tried guessing their story, how they had met, who wore the trousers in the relationship and whether they were a vanilla couple or had a kinkier side. Jack had tried to shock his younger lover with his suggestions, but had soon found himself having to pick up his jaw at Ianto's descriptions.

Jack made his way to Ianto's flat and stood outside the front door, indulging in the fantasy that his young lover was waiting inside for him, ready to scold him for leaving his boots on and dirtying the carpet with a trail of mud. With a sigh he opened the front door and was deafened by the silence.

Although it had only been a week since Ianto died, the house held an air of long neglect. The air smelt slightly musty and the surfaces were covered in a thin layer of dust. Jack had put off clearing Ianto's house, knowing that it would bring his death into sharp reality and there would be no more denial, no more hope that the hub proximity alarm would go off and Ianto would walk in reading the newspaper, navigating his way to the coffee machine without lifting his head from the pages.

Jack toed off his boots and placed them neatly on the doormat, before hanging up his coat on the coat stand. He dropped his duffel bag by the coach and moved to the windows, opening them wide, letting the breeze chase away the musty smell.

He looked around the flat noticing the book sitting on the arm of the couch, a bookmark noting where Ianto had read to. Jack sat on the couch and wept; wept for himself, wept for Ianto, wept for what he had lost and for what would never be. His body and mind tired from the emotional and physical exertions of the last few days gave in and he fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

When Jack woke hours later, he groaned as the bones in his back and neck ground together before clicking back into place. The couch had always been a bone of contention between the two men. It was a deep burgundy leather monster that wouldn't be out of place in a Victorian gentleman's parlour. Although Jack couldn't fault its stylishness and how it fit in with the rest of the furnishings, he could fault its comfort level. The couch was rock solid and had no give in it at all, something that had frustrated Jack greatly when he found himself on his back with Ianto on top of him, grinding him into the unforgiving leather. Jack had tried tirelessly to get Ianto to buy a new sofa, but the young man was attached to the monstrosity and blocked every argument for its replacement with a simple reply of 'it's my sofa, I like it, if you want a comfortable sofa, then buy your own place and you can furnish it how you like'.

Jack made his way into the bedroom and looked at the rumpled covers on the bed. He knew that he should change the bedding but the temptation to lay where Ianto had lain and breath in his scent was too much for him. He quickly stripped his clothes, dropping them in an untidy heap at the bottom of the bed and crawled, naked, beneath the covers. Ianto's scent surrounded him and his own body heat warming the bed and the covers, made him feel like his body was being cradled by Ianto's. Before he closed his eyes he felt a soft touch on his forehead and for a moment he imagined he saw the face of his dead lover in his bleary gaze.


	2. Chapter 2

2.

When Jack awoke everything was where he left it, he tidied his clothes into the hamper at the bottom of the bed and stepped into the shower, soaping himself down with Ianto's shower gel, enjoying the tingly, citrusy scents. Just as he had turned off the shower he heard a knock at the door. Tying a towel round his waist, he made his way to the door.

Jack flung the door open and was met by the sight of Toshiko Sato, her eyes wide and face flushed as she took in Jack's wet, semi-naked state. When he just glared at her, she lowered her eyes. "I just..." she paused, trying to gather her courage together; an angry, naked Jack was an intimidating sight. "I wanted to help. You're going to need to go through Ianto's stuff and I didn't want you to have to do it alone."

Jack's anger faded as he took in the young woman. She was biting her lip, her eye's glazed with unshed tears and he could tell that she needed this as much as he did. Jack may have lost his lover but Tosh had lost her best friend and confidante, the one person she could talk to. He stood back and stayed silent as she shuffled through the door, the unshed tears beginning to spill as she took in the partially read book on the sofa and the pictures of Ianto and her on the mantelpiece.

Jack gathered her into his arms and let her cry, mumbling soothing, and nonsensical words until her sobs subsided into ragged pants. He guided her to the settee before getting her a glass of water. Jack left her to compose herself and moved into the bedroom, dressing hurriedly. When he came back out, Tosh was huddled in the corner of the settee looking lost.

"Where shall we start?" He asked her, watching as she jumped at the sound of his voice. When she looked at him blankly, he clarified. "Living-room or bedroom?"

Tosh looked around the living room and glanced at the bedroom door. "Living-room. I don't think I can face the bedroom just yet."

Jack nodded and grabbed a few black bags from beneath the kitchen sink. "Right, books first?" Tosh and Jack worked their way through Ianto's books, making neat piles; one for the charity shop, one for books that Jack wanted to keep, one that Tosh wanted to keep and one for books that they thought Gwen, Owen or Rhys might like. Once the bookcases were clear, they placed Jack's choices back on the shelves. Reverentially, Jack placed the unfinished book that Ianto had been reading on the bookcase next to his selection of books. They packed the books in the black bags and Tosh stuck a sticker on each bag to indicate where they were going to.

Sorting the books had been done in silence but as they started to sort the CDs and LPs Jack turned the radio on. There were very few CDs of Ianto's that Jack liked, most of them had deep, heavy, bass beats and almost growling vocals. Whilst packing away the CDs Tosh uncovered a surprise. "The Best of the Village People?" Tosh asked looking sceptical.

A huge grin spread across Jack's face. "It was a joke gift from Rhiannon when she found out about Ianto and me. God you should have seen his face when he opened it; I thought he was going to go ballistic, but he just turned around put on the CD and started dancing to 'YMCA'. You should have seen it, Tosh, him, Rhiannon and the kids dancing around the living-room. I'd never seen him so uninhibited; in public anyway!" Jack added with a twinkle in his eye.

"Right, that's a keeper then." Tosh said with a smile.

Once all the CDs that were going were packed away, Jack suggested they take a break for lunch. It had been quite cathartic sorting out the CDs and books, but Jack wanted to prepare himself for the more personal belongings they would find in Ianto's bedroom.

Jack and Tosh walked to a small cafe around the corner from Ianto's flat. Jack couldn't think of it as anything other than Ianto's flat. They tucked into a greasy lunch and milky tea, neither of them wishing to order coffee yet. While they ate, they reminisced. By the end of the meal they were in tears of laughter and ready to face the most daunting task of the day; Ianto's bedroom.

They started with the chest of drawers first, placing the underwear and socks into bin bags ready to go out with the trash. Most of Ianto's T-shirts, jeans and gym gear were placed into sacks to give to a charity shop, but a few select t-shirts were put to the side for Jack and Tosh. Tosh selected a couple of Muppets and Sesame Street shirts to keep while Jack kept a raggedy t-shirt that had seen better days, but had been Ianto's favourite when he was in a lazy mood and just wanted to lounge around the house.

Once they had cleared the drawers, they moved to the wardrobe. As they removed suit after suit from the wardrobe, Tosh's breath began to hitch as it hit her that she would never see Ianto again. She hugged a black, pin-stripe suit too her body, and drew in deep ragged breaths, trying to take in his scent but only finding the fresh scent of dry-cleaning products. Jack drew her into his lap and they sat and cried together for the friend they missed so dearly.

Tosh pulled away from Jack, and taking a deep breath, she visibly composed herself. "Pick a suit!" She ordered. Together they chose a suit, shirt and matching tie each and set them aside. The rest they took out of the wardrobe and placed on the bed. All the shoes in the bottom of the wardrobe were placed in a black bag.

"Is there anything else?" Tosh asked, looking at Jack.

"No that's it; I want to keep all the little nick-knacks and mementos." Jack suddenly moved to the bed and withdrew another suit. "Rhiannon might want it. If not, I'll take it to the charity shop with the others. Ianto left her all his savings in his will but she might want some of his cufflinks or some photos."

Tosh nodded. "If you want some moral support, I could come with you when you go and see her again?" Tosh had met Rhiannon at Ianto's funeral and knew how emotional Ianto's sister was likely to be.

Jack shook his head. "It's alright, but thanks for the offer. I think that's something I need to do alone."

They loaded the charity bags into the back of the SUV, then realised that they hadn't discussed which charities they would give Ianto's belongings to. After a quick discussion they decided on the PDSA and Cancer Research shops.

After they had dropped off the bags, Jack drove Toshiko home before making his way to the Hub. When he arrived, Owen nodded, picked up his leather coat, gave a sharp salute and walked out the door. Jack took of his coat and made his way up to his office, where he sat down and looked at the pile of paperwork heaped on his desk. He sighed and picked up a pen and began to work his way through the documents.

Gwen knocked on the door, which made Jack pause; Gwen never knocked. "Come in." Gwen entered the room and looked at Jack with wide, sympathetic eyes. "Did you want something, Gwen?"

"I just wanted to let you know that I was here, you know, if you wanted to talk. How are you, pet?"

"Fine!"

Gwen looked shocked at Jack's sharp tone. "Well, you know where I am if you need me."

Jack sighed. "Go home, Gwen. Go home and make love to Rhys. Take advantage of the fact that he's still here." Jack hung his head and waited for the door to close before he raised his head. He heard the cog door roll back and then there was no sound except for the whirr of the rift monitors and the occasional squawk from Myfanwy.

Jack walked out of his office and made his way up to Myfanwy's eyrie. He was met with the sight of the large pteranodon lying listlessly in her nest. She gave a soft trill as Jack entered her nest and then began to keen.

Jack dropped to his knees and let her rest her head in his lap. "I know, you miss him too, don't you, girl?" Myfanwy continued to keen, even as Jack stroked her beak and scratched behind her crest. She paused briefly when his tears dropped on her, but resumed once the initial shock wore off. Jack searched his memory and tried to remember some of the songs Ianto used to sing when he was feeding Myfanwy, but his singing only agitated the dinosaur.

Moving, Jack removed Myfanwy's head from his lap and moved to Tosh's computer. He searched through the CCTV footage until he found what he was looking for. As he pressed play, Ianto's soft voice filled the air and Myfanwy launched herself from her nest, desperately seeking her Welshman. She landed beside Jack and together they watched Ianto on the screen, Jack tracing Ianto's features with his fingers and Myfanwy tapping the screen with her beak, as though trying to free him from his glass prison.


	3. Chapter 3

3.

Life went on as usual in Torchwood and Jack brought in a new face, Gwyn who had been an archivist for the National Museum of Wales. He also brought in an ex-UNIT soldier called James for field missions. Both men soon came to grips with their duties but neither could carry them out with as much flair as their predecessor.

With the extra staff, Jack was able to spend more nights at Ianto's flat. He had kept all the existing furniture as the rich, dark, antique wood suited his taste, but changed small things to try and make it his own. The pictures of Ianto and the team remained, but they were joined by pictures of Jack and his previous friends and lovers, including Estelle and Rose. Set to the side was a picture of his daughter when she was younger and the only photograph she had allowed him to have of his grandson, Stephen.

As soon as Jack walked through the door of Ianto's flat, a sense of belonging and security enveloped him and he could almost imagine that as he took of his long coat it was Ianto removing it.

Tired after a long hard day; made even longer by the fact that he no longer had anyone with any diplomacy skills and therefore he and the team had managed to offend a usually peaceful visiting race and had spent hours back-tracking, trying desperately to undo the damage before the Xnelians could reply aggressively to the insults to their race; Jack stripped wearily and crawled into bed, falling asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

As Jack slept, he dreamt of Ianto, and moaned in his sleep as his agile fingers kneaded and rubbed his back and shoulders before moving lower. Jack turned over so that he was lying on his back, sprawled across the bed. He began to pant in his sleep and soon his body began to convulse and shudder as his dreams and reality began to fuse together.

When Jack awoke he peeled off the crusty sheet in disgust. He glanced at the clock and groaned, he had overslept and had been expected in the hub half-an-hour ago. As he got out of bed, he realised that he had meant to put a load on in the washing machine as he had no clean clothes left. He scowled as he realised he would have to iron yesterday's clothes. He moved to the bottom of the bed to pick up his trousers and shirt only to find that they weren't there. "What the...?" Jack exclaimed. He scanned the room and found them folded neatly on the armchair at the side of the bed. "Huh! I must have been more tired than I thought."

The image of Ianto, his lips, wet and shiny and his eyes watching in adoration as Jack came undone under his ministrations had Jack in a foul mood. He hated the fact that his own mind and body were tormenting him with images and feelings he could never have again and the team steered clear of him when it became apparent that he was in no mood to be toyed with. The only one that dared come close was Tosh who shyly gave him a hug and then walked away without saying a word.

It was barely four o'clock when he left, unable to take another minute, and rushed out of the Hub, not stopping when the others called his name, asking where the hell he was going. When he reached home, he stopped outside the door as he heard a strange noise coming from inside. He unlocked the door and silently opened the door, his gun drawn, ready to take on anyone who dared disturb his sanctuary.

The sound of the noise soon became apparent as he walked into the kitchen. He watched in disbelief as his clothes swirled around in the washing machine, the drum rolling. Jack ran a hand through his hair as he wondered what the hell was going on. He knew that he had meant to put a load on that morning but he couldn't for the life of him remember doing it, let alone put it on timer. He looked around the flat and found that his mug had been cleaned and placed on the mug tree by the kettle and that the bed had been made.

Sinking on to the settee, Jack decided that he must have cleaned up last night and that he had been so distracted by last night's dream that he must have put the washing on this morning on autopilot. It was the only logical explanation. That night, as he slept, he dreamed of Ianto again.

The pattern continued for the next few weeks, and had it just been the dreams, Jack would have been able to cope; but it wasn't just the dreams...In the mornings when he woke he would find his underwear in the hamper and his trousers and shirt neatly folded on the armchair.

Unable to keep his concerns to himself, Jack stalked into the Hub and pulled Owen into his office. "Oi, you could just ask me to come to your office, you know!" Owen complained, wrenching himself from Jack's grasp.

"Sorry, sorry." Jack muttered, refusing to look Owen in the eye.

When Owen said nothing, Jack finally looked at him, noticing the compassion and worry in the doctor's eyes. "I think I'm going mad." Jack mumbled.

Owens's eyes widened at Jack's admission. He sat down at Jack's desk and pulled a piece of paper and pen towards him. "Why do you think you're going mad?"

Jack snorted. "What else could it be?"

"I don't know; tell me what has happened and I'll tell you if you are going mad."

Relieved by Owen's matter of fact attitude, Jack began to speak. "I've been having dreams, really vivid dreams about Ianto..."

"Well that's to be expected, he was your lover and your employee, and you probably feel guilty about letting him down." Owen interrupted.

Jack glared at him. "That's not what the dreams are about. They're vivid, really vivid."

"When you say vivid, what do you mean exactly, what are they about?"

Jack lowered his gaze, his face blushing red. "Bloody hell, you're having wet dreams about the dead Tea boy!" Owen exclaimed.

"Owen!" Jack hissed.

"Sorry, so apart from explicit, sexual dreams, what else has got you thinking that you're going round the twist?"

"I'm having blackouts."

At that, Owen straightened. "When? How often? What happens during these blackouts?"

"Every day for the past three weeks. The first time I put the washing machine and I couldn't remember doing it. Since then every day I find I've cleaned up but can never remember doing it."

"So you think you're going mad because you're having explicit sex dreams and the house is tidy. Does that sum it up?"

"Thanks for your understanding, Owen. I feel much better now." Jack responded, his voice laced with sarcasm.

"I don't think you are insane, Jack. There are a lot of possibilities." Owen responded patiently.

"Like what!" Jack demanded.

"Well the wet dreams can be explained by the fact that you are horny and haven't had shag since Tea boy died."

Jack glared at him. "Okay, since Ianto died."

"And the blackouts and cleaning?"

"Several possibilities, none of which include blackouts." When Jack looked like he was going to argue, Owen held up a hand. "Hear me out. It could just be sleep -walking. It was Ianto's home before you moved in and he was a neatness freak. Perhaps you are feeling guilty for letting it get messy and your subconscious is making you clean up in your sleep."

Jack thought about Owen's hypothesis and nodded. "Okay. What are the other options?"

"We work for Torchwood, for god's sake! What do you think? Some kind of alien or alien device trying to mess with your mind or a ghost; perhaps Ianto's ghost, even."

Jack looked at the doctor in amazement. "That's the best you've come up with? You've been reading way too much Harry Potter. I can assure you that I don't have a house elf and ghosts don't exist, you know that."

"No, I don't know that. Well okay, the house elf I do know, but ghosts? Ghosts I do believe in."

"Right, let's discard the ghosts and house elves theory for the moment, how do we go about testing to find out if I'm sleepwalking?"

Owen grinned. "Easy, we watch you. We'll put cameras in the flat and monitor your nocturnal activities. That should show us if you are the one that is doing the cleaning or, to use one of PC Andy's phrases, if there are some Spooky-Doo going ons."

Jack looked unhappy. "I don't like it, the idea of being watched at home. I really don't like it."

Owen looked at Jack in disbelief. "You lived in the bloody Hub, Jack! You made a best of compilation of you and Ianto shagging and threatened to give it to Tosh! How can you not like being watched?"

Jack glared at him. "Alright, when do we do this?"

Owen rubbed hands together. "No time like the present. Let's go bug your house!"

"Do you have to sound so gleeful about it, Owen?" Jack asked wearily.

"Hey, it's been a boring day; I've got to get excited about something. It may as well be you!"

* * *

**A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long, I had a few problems uploading the document. I'm not entirely sure I caught Jack just right in this chapter so please let me know what you think. I hope you found it worth the wait.**


	4. Chapter 4

4.

Jack opened the door and let the others in. He didn't know why it needed Owen, Gwen and Tosh to do this and suspected that it was more a case of Gwen and Owen being nosy buggers and wanting to know what his home looked like.

As Tosh set up the small, wireless cameras and tested them, Owen and Gwen snooped around the place, picking up photographs and rifling through the books. When Owen went to touch the book that Ianto had been reading before he died, Jack snapped and grabbed the book before Owen could pick it up and lose Ianto's place. Owen backed away from the bookcase, hands raised in defence.

"Just don't touch anything!" Jack snapped.

When the cameras were in place and Tosh declared them fully functioning, Jack ushered them out of the flat and poured himself a glass of whisky from the cut crystal decanter on the sideboard. He put on a CD of Acker Bilks' greatest hits and sank down on the sofa. He sipped his whisky, enjoying the burn as it slid down his throat. Once he'd finished, Jack picked up the phone and called the local Chinese and felt a pang of shame as he was greeted by name as soon as he started to speak. His shame grew even more when they reeled off his usual order, checking to make sure he didn't want anything different.

As Jack sat and ate his meal, the loneliness that he usually managed to keep at bay, crept up on him and before he knew it, his appetite had disappeared. He put the lids back on the cartons and placed them in the fridge, leaving his dishes on the side.

He was mindful of the cameras as he stripped and deliberately turned his back, denying Tosh of a full frontal shot, smirking as he imagined her disappointed expression.

Jack slept fitfully and when he woke in the morning, it was with an erection and no sign of his release. When he wandered into the kitchen, he found his dirty plates on the side, exactly where he had left them the night before. He wasn't sure whether or not to be disappointed that they hadn't captured any nocturnal footage or pleased that the strange goings-on had seemed to stop.

The next few nights proved to be the same, Jack waking up with a morning erection and the house getting steadily messier. It seemed like Jack's little problem had resolved itself and he requested the recordings be stopped.

On the fifth night, Jack went to bed as normal, leaving his clothes at the foot of the bed and the dirty dishes for the morning. He slept peacefully, dreaming of Ianto and in the morning he woke up feeling satiated and crusty.

Jack washed and went to put the sheets in the hamper, only to stop at the sight of yesterday's clothes crumpled in the bottom. With a look of frustration he quickly dressed and raced to the hub determined to get to the bottom of ithe strange goings on.


	5. Chapter 5

5.

As the proximity alarm went off and the cog door rumbled open, Tosh looked up from her screen and frowned as she saw the worried look on Jack's face.

"What's wrong?" She asked her voice full of concern.

"It's happening again! I have to find Owen!" Jack replied tersely.

Tosh began to type furiously and brought up footage of Jack's flat. "I thought you had stopped recording my flat."

"Nope, I decided to keep recording in case something else happened." Tosh replied with a grin.

Jack grabbed her and kissed her soundly on the mouth, laughing at her shocked squeak. Tosh began to play the footage and fast forwarded until there appeared to be some action. The pair watched in disbelief as Jack's clothes appeared to float towards the laundry basket and the lid of the basket opened. Tosh opened up a screen for each camera. The kitchen camera showed no activity at the moment but the bedroom camera caught their eyes.

They watched in horror as Jack's duvet appeared to move and a shape appeared below it. Tosh turned crimson as she watched Jack clutch at the sheets as his body began to writhe. It wasn't long before Jack's hips began to snap upwards, almost as though he was fucking the air and the he gave a shout before becoming limp. Tosh began to zoom in on Jack's head. "What...?" Jack demanded. Tosh gave him an impatient look. "Just watch!" She demanded.

They stared at the screen and watched as Jack's hair began to move. Tentatively, Tosh raised her hand to Jack's head and tried to recreate the hair movement. They realised that the movement had been creating by a hand stroking the hair, and from the tempo it appeared to be long, soothing strokes. This was backed up by the smile on Jack's face in the recording. Just as they were about to stop the recording they heard Jack mutter "Love you, miss you."

Just when they thought that all the activity was over and done with, there was movement in the kitchen. They watched incredulously as the taps were turned on and washing up liquid added. Each dish was washed and dried and stored in the proper place.

There was silence as the pair tried to comprehend what they had just seen. The silence was broken by Tosh clearing her throat. "Hmm-hmm...Well it looks like one entity that is performing all these tasks. I would say that the entity is invisible or has some sort of cloaking device and either has a physical form, capable of picking up solid objects, or it has telekinetic powers."

Just as Jack was about to reply, the cog door rolled back to reveal Gwen who took one look at Jack's expression and made her way to Tosh's workstation.

"What you lookin' at?" She asked, peering inquisitively at the monitor. "Hang on; is that your place, Jack? It's not happening again, is it?"

Jack rubbed the back of his neck wearily. "Yep." As Gwen went to rewind the footage, Jack stopped her. " Leave it. I don't want to have to go through this a third time when Owen gets here. Meeting in the conference room as soon as he arrives."

Gwen looked a little put out and gazed longingly at the screen, her curiosity kicking into overdrive. Reluctantly she looked away and murmured her assent.

Jack tried to push back the mixture of hope and despair warring in his stomach as he rewound the footage and watched as his hair was ruffled in his sleep.

When the cog door rolled open again, Gwen leapt to her feet and before Owen could take off his leather jacket, she grabbed hold of him, dragging him upstairs to the conference room. Owen tried to shrug her off, but her grip only tightened.

"Jeez, if you want a shag that much who am I to argue?" As he caught sight of Tosh and Jack making their way up to the conference room, Owen put on the brakes. "I know it may seem like it, love, but I'm not into orgies or an audience."

Gwen slapped the back of his head and he rubbed the area, only to give a yelp as Toshiko passed him and smacked the other side of his head. Just when he thought he was safe, Jack smacked the back of his head. As he slouched into his usual chair, he grumbled. "There had better be a bloody good reason why I've been dragged in here and abused."

Gwen glared at him. "It couldn't just be because we wanted to?" she asked sweetly.

Owen slouched down even further and crossed his arms. "All right, I'm here, let's get on with it!"

Tosh glanced at Jack who sat at the table, staring at the wood grain as if it were the most fascinating thing he had ever seen. She cleared her throat. "Last night, Jack went to bed as usual, when he woke up the flat was tidy and..."Tosh blushed, glancing at Jack in embarrassment.

"Bloody hell, have you been having wet dreams again, Harkness?" Owen exclaimed. "I thought we'd finished with all that crap?"

"Obviously not, Owen. And thanks for your tact and diplomacy, it's greatly appreciated." Jack muttered.

Owen shook his head, "I suppose that we'll have to start from scratch..."

Tosh shook her head. "I left the cameras running, just in case, and we caught everything on camera." With that, Tosh began to play the recordings.

As Gwen watched the recordings, she took notes and to her credit, her hand only paused for a few seconds as she watched Jack in the throes of his climax.

When the recordings stopped Jack looked around the table. "Well...? Thoughts...? Observations...?"

Owen shrugged his shoulders. "Dobby the house elf is ruled out."

"Any useful thoughts or observations?"

Gwen cleared her throat and consulted her notepad. "The phenomenon, or should that be phenomena?" She asked looking a little confused. She seemed to realise that she had lost track before she had even started and they could see her give a mental shrug. "Anyway, the occurrence started as soon as Jack fell into a deep sleep, indicating that whatever it was, didn't want to upset or panic you. The first thing it did was to tidy the clothes into the hamper, and judging from the height which the clothes were carried I would suggest that it was a humanoid, your height or perhaps just a little taller."

Owen looked at Gwen, impressed. "Bloody hell, you can tell all that from a floating pile of laundry?"

Gwen continued as though Owen had never spoken. "As soon as the bedroom was put into order, the alien/entity changed its attention from cleaning to pleasuring Jack."

"Or raping him, he wasn't exactly consenting, was he?" Owen argued. The others looked at Jack, who refused to meet their eyes and an awkward silence fell on the group which was shattered as the unoccupied chair to the left of Jack, fell backwards, crashing noisily to the floor.

Immediately Jack was on the alert. He pushed open his leather wrist strap, pushed a few buttons and put the hub into lockdown, the light changing from white to a deep, dark, crimson red. "Careful, whatever it is, it's in here with us."

"Jack, you don't think...I mean it couldn't be..." Tosh stammered.

"Spit it out!" Jack demanded, scanning the room for anything untoward.

"Do you think it's Ianto?" she blurted.

Owen, Jack and Gwen looked at her in horror. Jack looked at her angrily. "Absolutely not! You know that there is nothing out there when you die. I should know, I've done it often enough!"

"But you don't stay that way! How do you know what's out there. Just because you don't see anything, it doesn't mean that everyone else doesn't. For all you know, you haven't seen anything because you are not meant to yet!"

"This isn't the time, Tosh!" Jack snapped. He pressed a few buttons on his wrist strap, scanning the room for any life signs. "No life signs."

Tosh left the conference room and made her way to her desk. She began typing rapidly and sat back, almost seeming relaxed. The others stared at her in disbelief.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Tosh?" Demanded Jack, staying alert. "We're in the middle of a lockdown and you're playing games?"

Tosh's eyes flashed fire, appearing unearthly in the red light. "You're upset, Jack, so I'll let you off with that comment this one time; next time you try it, you won't be so lucky!"

Jack held up his hands apologetically. "Alright, I'm sorry, but the question still stands, what are you doing?"

"Tracing from EMF signals." She explained.

"EMF? Are they not what ghost hunters use to try and find ghosts?" Gwen asked, looking confused. "Tosh, love, you don't really think its Ianto, do you?"

"Why not! Why can't it be him! We get all sorts of shit thrown at us every day, why can't it be something good for once?" Tosh asked, almost pleading.

"Because if it is Ianto, it's not good, it's not good at all." Jack replied wearily. Seconds later, the files that were sitting on Tosh's desk fell to the floor with a dull thud.

"I don't think he agrees with you." Tosh said, smiling. "And can we take us off of lockdown now, please? I don't think he's a danger to us or humanity."

Jack shook his head. "No can do. I know you want it to be him, but you can't let your desire for it to be Ianto blind you."

Gwen stepped up to Jack. "It makes sense. It's only you that it's been bothering and nothing has happened until we said it had been raping you and when you said that it would be a bad thing if it were Ianto. Why would it react to those things unless it, no _he_, was offended by them?"

Jack shrugged her off angrily. "You really don't get it do you? Say it is Ianto, what then? What, are we going to play happy families? I can't touch him, I can't see him, and I can't hear him. Think about it from Ianto's point of view. An eternity of being ignored, unable to make conversation, unable to be loved. That's hell, Gwen, and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy."

At Gwen and Tosh's look of despair, Jack apologised. "I'm sorry, I know you miss him, but would you really want him to be trapped in a limbo, never being able to touch another person?"

Shaking her head, Gwen asked tremulously "But what if it is him, Jack? How do we help him?"

Running a shaking hand through his hair, Jack sighed. "I don't know, Gwen? Let's worry about that if or when the time comes." Jack pressed the buttons on his manipulator and the lights brightened from deep red to bright white, that had them blinking at the sudden change. "Tosh let me know when you get the results of the scan."

Tosh nodded, head bowed, unwilling to look Jack in the eye. He tilted her chin until she was looking at him. "Whatever it is, if it's Ianto, we will deal with it and we will do our best to help him. Just...just don't get your hopes up, it might not be him."


	6. Chapter 6

6.

Tosh tugged at her hair in frustration, how the hell was she meant to trace the signature of a ghost. She was receiving EMF signals but could not determine whether they were from the Hub's equipment or from the spirit. The only way she could think of differentiating them was to shut off the entire Hub's equipment which was just not feasible. In despair she found herself looking through the archive's database but the only reference to ghosts she could find was the ghost shifts that had occurred before Canary Wharf fell and temporal anomalies.

"How's it going, pet?" Gwen asked, placing a cup of hot chocolate by Tosh's mouse and settling down on a seat beside her.

"Horrendously, I can scan for live things, but how the hell do you scan for something with no life signs. The human body gives off electrical signals, but does a ghost? How do you tell the difference between background radiation and a spirits radiation? There's nothing in the archives, nothing at all!"

"Shift over." Gwen ordered, pushing Tosh's chair away with her foot and sliding into her place. She minimised Tosh's program so it was running in the background and opened the internet. She shrugged at Tosh's incredulous gaze. "What? It's worth a try, with the number of ghost hunting programs on the telly, there's bound to be something on the internet that might be of some use."

Within seconds the search engine brought up thousands of entries and the two women began to eliminate the useful entries from the downright weird ones. Gwen shut down an entry that looked like another quack stating that she could talk to your dead granny when the screen clicked back. Thinking that the internet was playing up, Gwen closed the screen again, only for it to pop back up. The two women looked at each other and Gwen quickly took down the woman's telephone number.

Three hours later they were sitting at table in Cafe Rouge having told Jack that they were going out to lunch to clear their heads. When Jack had picked up his coat to accompany them, Gwen had given an apologetic smile, insisted that it was a girl's only lunch and tried to convince Jack to go out with Owen instead. At Owen's glare, Jack had shaken his head and retreated back to his office.

Tosh nudged Gwen as a small, barrel of a woman appeared at the door of the cafe. They expected silks and scarves and instead got sensible shoes, alice band and knee length polyester skirt and blouse. Before they could indicate their presence, the woman had made her way over to their table and sat down.

"Have you ordered yet?" She asked picking up the menu. "No? Oh good, I'm absolutely starving. I missed breakfast this morning, bloody dog decided to get into a fight with a hedgehog and I spent the morning at the vet getting the bloody spines removed. Still, he won't do it again. Have you decided what you're having?"

Gwen and Tosh grinned at each other, relaxing, listening to the woman's tirade. "I'll have a tuna melt ciabatta and my friend Tosh will have prawn salad. What are you having, it's on me?" Gwen asked.

"I think I'll have the bacon and brie ciabatta, thank you, my dear."

Gwen waved at the waiter and gave him their order before turning her attention back to the woman. "Mrs Jamieson, thank you for seeing us at such short notice."

"Edith, dear, call me Edith." She interrupted.

"All right, Edith. You'll have to forgive us, we have never used the services of a medium and we're not exactly sure how to begin."

"Well for a start, you can forget the medium nonsense! I'm a translator, pure and simple. It just so happens that I'm a much specialised one. "She turned her attention to Tosh. "It's not hell, it's frustrating, but it's not hell, he gets to make sure the people he loves are safe and happy and he's satisfied with that for now."

Tosh began to weep with relief; ever since Jack had vented his frustration she had suffered images of Ianto stuck in an endless torment.

Edith handed her a paper hankie from her coat pocket and patted her hand. "Now what was it you wanted to know, Ianto tells me you are having trouble communicating?"

"Is there any way we can communicate with Ianto ourselves? Any equipment that would allow us to hear him or see him." Tosh asked eagerly.

"I'm really not sure, I've never had the need of it myself. " Edith answered with a frown. "I've not heard of anything. Obviously you've got your white noise, but I think that's just in the movies, I can't say I've heard my Great-Aunt Ethel speaking to me via the wireless, but that's maybe because the old battle-axe and I never got on, so she wouldn't speak to me anyway!"

Just then the waiter reappeared with their meals and Gwen gave a small frown of annoyance which was met with a huff from the waiter. Gwen went to ask a question but was met with a glare from Edith. "Dinner first and then questions. It will give you time to think some more up. And by the way, your young man has gone back to his Captain, he's quite sure you'll be able to come up with something."

They ate in silence, Gwen and Tosh rushing their food so that they could start asking Edith questions. Unfortunately Edith was not to be hurried so they sat impatiently waiting for her to finish. With a contented sigh, Edith wiped her mouth and put down her napkin. "Shall we begin ladies?"

"Thank you" Sighed Tosh. "How do you hear spirits? Is it a voice in your head? Visions? Can you see them like you see us?"

"They are as clear to me as you are."

"So that means that Ianto has a physical formal. So why can't we see it, and why can you?" Tosh mused.

"No idea, pet, but if there's any way that I can help, let me know."

"Would you be willing to take part in some experiments? Obviously I'd pay you for your time and I promise it will be kept to ourselves. It is purely so I can figure out how to communicate with Ianto, or rather, how he can communicate with me. I miss him so much and knowing he's there but unable to communicate is driving me mad."

"Certainly, dear. It will be quite interesting to find out what it is that makes me different. What kind of tests were you thinking of?"

"If I can carry out an EEG, one when Ianto is present and one when you are interacting with one of us. Also I was thinking, if you could possibly act as an interpreter for tests that need to be carried out on Ianto?"

"It would be a pleasure. When shall we start?"

Gwen and Tosh exchanged glances before Gwen answered. "Can we give you a call? We need to clear it with Jack first and it might be a bit difficult to convince him."

"If you have any problems tell him to give me a call. From the sounds of it, if anyone can convince him it will be Ianto himself."


	7. Chapter 7

7.

"No, absolutely not! What the hell were you two thinking, going to see that charlatan? She's a con, Christ I expected better from you two!" Jack yelled, throwing his arms up in anger.

Tosh moved forward. "She's genuine, Jack. Ianto trusts her, so why shouldn't we?"

"_Ianto_ trusts her? _Ianto_ trusts her? Ianto is fucking dead, Tosh! When are you going to come to terms with that? He's gone and there's not a damn thing we can do to bring him back!"

"I know he's dead! I helped you clean his body! I was the one that insisted he was buried instead of being put in the morgue like a slab of beef! Don't tell me I don't know he's dead, you sanctimonious jerk!" Tosh yelled, taking the others by surprise.

Jack took a deep breathing, trying to get himself in control. "Ok Tosh, convince me! Why the hell should I allow this woman in my base, let alone believe a word she says."

Tosh smiled, her anger fading to be replaced by relief. "Firstly, it was Ianto that led us to her." She held up her hand as Jack started to interrupt. "Hear me out, you told me to convince you and in order to do that you have to let me finish." At Jack's nod, Tosh started again. "As I said, it was Ianto that led us to her. She told us that it's not hell, it's frustrating not being able to communicate, but it's not hell. Doesn't that sound familiar, Jack?"

Jack nodded thoughtfully, but wasn't quite ready to concede to Tosh's theory. "She could have been picking up hints from your language. It doesn't prove a thing."

Tosh growled in frustration, at a loss for what to say. Gwen stepped in quickly, before Tosh and Jack started trading blows. "While we were talking, Edith said something. She said that Ianto had gone back to his Captain. We never mentioned Torchwood, we never mentioned Ianto's name; he was always referred to as 'our friend' and we sure as hell didn't mention you, Jack! Meet her on neutral ground; listen to what she says with an open mind, please."

Jack gave a brisk nod and then walked away. He turned back and glanced at both of them. "I'm not promising anything, but I'll meet up with her."

After Jack had left, the girls turned on Owen. "Why the hell didn't you say anything? You just sat there! Anyone would think you didn't want it to be, Ianto! I know you didn't like him, but can't you at least give him a chance?"

Owen looked offended. "I didn't say anything because the pair of you had it covered and didn't need my help. Ianto and I weren't the best of mates, but that doesn't mean I didn't like him, I just don't like the idea of him being stuck in a kind of limbo for the rest of eternity. What happens once we are all gone is he just going to haunt Jack for the rest of his life? That could be fuckin' millennia; can you honestly say you would want that for him?"

Tosh looked troubled and Gwen shook her head. "Good old Owen, eternal pessimist. How do you know he isn't here because he wants to be?" she asked.

"How do you know he is?" Owen retaliated.


	8. Chapter 8

8.

Jack stood on the plass, waiting for Edith impatiently. He wanted to get this over and done with so that they could get on with their lives. He spun around as someone tapped his shoulder. He looked down at the middle-aged woman with disdain.

"Hello, Jack. Shall we take a walk?" Edith asked as though they had known each other for years.

"Look, I agreed to hear you out to keep Tosh and Gwen happy, just don't expect me to be taken in by your con; I was running con jobs long before you're great-grandmother was a twinkle in her daddy's eye."

Edith grinned. "Now we both know that's not true, in fact you're not going to start running cons for a few thousand years."

Jack's eyes narrowed. "Who are you?" He demanded.

"Edith Jamieson, born in Splott in 1945 on an average day to average parents. Gave them a bit of a shock when I started speaking to my Nan when I was three. It wasn't the fact that she was dead that shocked them, it was more the fact that the miserable old bag had cut Tad off without a penny when he married Mam –she wasn't good enough for her darling son – and hadn't spoken to them for years! I still don't know why she decided to haunt Tad, she was absolutely miserable there."

Before Jack could ask Edith another question, she turned serious and grabbed Jack's arm. Looking him straight in the eye, she began to speak. "I need you to listen to me very carefully, it's important to Ianto. Don't start huffing and rolling your eyes, just listen! He says he's sorry for coming to you in your dreams. He didn't think of it as rape, he just wanted to give you some comfort. However, he's not sorry about cleaning the flat; he says it was a bloody pigsty! His exact words are 'Honestly, Jack! How difficult is it to put your dirty laundry in the laundry basket before you crawl into bed?"

"Ianto...?" Jack whispered, disbelievingly.

"Finally! You know, for a time-travelling man from the future, you're very sceptical. I'm not even going to tell you what he wanted me to say if this didn't work, although I will say this; I've never, ever thought of using a hockey stick like that!"

Jack blushed and a mischievous twinkle came to his eye. "Oh yeah, I'd almost forgotten about that, it's just as well I don't stay marked or I'd have had a hell of a lot of awkward questions to answer, next time we had to have a communal shower!"

"Yes, well, now we've got that out of the way, Toshiko wanted me to help her with some tests; are you happy for me to participate?"

"Yes, yes, fine." Jack said impatiently. "How is Ianto? Is he happy? Does he need anything? Why is he here?"

"Jack, he's fine, he's happy, he's here because someone needs to look after you and if not him, who the hell else is going to do it?"

TW

Jack sat in the living-room, listening, trying to make out any signs that Ianto was present. He knew any conversations would be one-sided but he didn't want Ianto to think that he was ignoring him. Jack snorted; he'd gone from adamantly denying Ianto's existence to worrying about whether he was feeling neglected, in the space of a few days.

He stood up and selected a CD; one of the few that both men liked, and put it on. Jack could imagine Ianto sitting on the couch, his legs folded beneath him, head lolling on the back of the couch, eyes closed and his hands and feet twitching in time to the beat of the song.

That night, when Jack dreamed, it was Ianto's turn to be pleasured.


	9. Chapter 9

10.

"Right, Tosh, what do you want me to do?" Edith asked.

"I need to do a control test, so could you make sure that everyone leaves the interrogation room?" Tosh asked. It had never occurred to her that if Ianto was in the hub, then other spirits would be as well. Although Edith had spoken to them, they had made it clear that although they would not hinder Tosh's experiments, they wanted nothing to do with them. While they were delighted with a new person to talk to, they made it clear to Edith that they were very happy being dead, and had no interest in starting conversations with the living, thank you very much.

"You heard the lady, everyone out! That includes you, Paul." Edith waited until all the spirits had left the room before indicating that Tosh should continue.

Using the theory behind Mary's pendant, Tosh had developed a scanning program that could detect brain waves. Now all she had to do was a control test to get the readings from an empty room and then she could start getting readings from Ianto. She had already managed to test the program on her fellow team mates. She had been hesitant about asking them for permission to essentially read their minds after the Mary debacle but they had all agreed without a second thought. Tosh supposed the fact that she had given them a warning to clear any unwanted thoughts out of their mind helped; although Jack seemed to delight in trying to make the young Japanese woman blush, his thoughts perfectly pornographic.

Tosh ran the scan on the empty room and then asked Ianto if he would wait in the room and actively think about something for them to discover. When Edith indicated that Ianto was in there, Tosh began the scan. They listened anxiously as the computer went through the various frequencies. For a while all they could hear was a static hiss, but then an echoing voice could be heard coming from the speakers. Tosh giggled and excitedly locked Ianto's signature wavelength into the computer. She then altered the motion detectors to follow Ianto's brainwaves and they watched on the CCTV as a red light began to weave its way around the interview room.

Jack lifted Tosh from her chair, enveloping her in a bear hug. "You did it! I knew you would!"

Tosh blushed scarlet and ducked her head, hiding her flaming cheeks behind her dark curtain of hair. Moments later though, the hair was pushed back and her head lifted until she was gazing into Owen's eyes. Before she could register what was happening, he had planted a wet, soggy kiss on her open lips.

Jack and Gwen grinned at the twin looks of "what the hell just happened" that had appeared on Tosh and Owen's faces. Owen began to stammer an excuse about being happy to see the Tea boy again, before turning away rapidly, scurrying back to the autopsy bay.

"You can come out now, Yan!" Jack called and the door opened revealing a glowing red spot on the floor. "How do you feel?" Jack asked, directing his question to the area about six feet above the red spot.

For a moment there was silence, and then Ianto's faded voice spoke "Sorry, were you talking to me?"

Jack looked thunderstruck and he glared at the others as they began to snicker. He turned back to the red light and glared at it. "Be grateful you don't have a body, Ianto, because if you did, you'd be over my knee for that!"

The speakers gave a high pitched whine. "God, you're evil!" Ianto's voice came over the speaker and the red light began to shimmer violently.

Tosh glared at the light. "Ianto Jones! You had better not be doing what I think you're doing! Being invisible is no excuse for that kind of behaviour!"

"Not to mention the fact that I can see what you've been doing." Edith chipped in.

"Oh god, I forgot all about you, Edith! Why didn't you stop me?" Ianto asked.

"And miss out on the free floor show? Not bloody likely." Edith replied with a snort.

Deliberately tuning out the banter Tosh began to type furiously, altering the light that was indicating Ianto's presence. Slowly it began to form a human shape, the red lighting changing into a silvery humanoid. She registered that the hub had suddenly become quiet and looked over at Jack who was staring at Ianto in horror.

"What's wrong? Jack, what's the matter?" Ianto demanded a hint of panic in his voice. "Is it me? Do you want me to go?"

Ianto's concern shook Jack out of his horrified silence. "No! Just...Tosh can you change it back?"

"But why...?" Tosh asked in confusion.

"Ianto, look at the monitor." Jack demanded.

The silver shape wavered as Ianto looked at himself on the screen. "Shit! Tosh change it back. Just change it, please Tosh." Ianto pleaded, a hint of panic in his voice.

"What does he remind you of, Tosh?" Jack demanded, waiting for the penny to drop.

Tosh looked confused for a moment and then a look of horror crossed her face. "Ianto, I am so sorry. I didn't think. Give me a minute and I'll change it back." Sensing Gwen's confusion she explained. "The ghost shifts, the ghosts looked just like that...except they weren't ghosts, they were cybermen."

"But the cybermen are gone..." Gwen stated, confused.

The silver shimmered as Ianto's anger grew. "Would you want to look like the monsters that killed all your friends and left you with nightmares for years after? Think about it, Gwen!"

Gwen cursed internally, wishing that just once, she could think before she spoke. "I'm sorry, pet, I wasn't thinking."

"Right, now that we've got that sorted and Teaboy is going to stay a red, glowy light, can we get back to normal. Coffee, Teaboy. You've been slacking for the past few months, time to fix that." Owen demanded as he slouched at his desk.

"I've been dead, am dead, Owen! I think a few weeks break is allowed." Ianto protested.

Jack looked sternly at the red light. "Owen's right, Ianto. You have neglected your duties for far too long and it's time to sort it out." He ignored Tosh, Gwen and Ianto's loud protests. "Edith, thank you for your help. Owen, I believe you have an autopsy to perform? Gwen, Tosh ...I don't know... find something to do. Ianto, my office now!"

**A/N: So that's it, the end. Thank you to everyone who has commented and encouraged me. I hope the ending meets your approval. I've got a couple of short one-offs in the pipeline but I have the attention span of a gnat so it may be a while before they are posted.**


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